【Epoch Times, December 24, 2025】(Compiled by Tang Bing, Epoch Times reporter) Feng Zhonghua, a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Guangdong Provincial Committee, has taken over as the Secretary of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee. Guo Yonghang has been removed from the position of Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee, with the official explanation being that “there is another appointment by the central authorities.” Guo Yonghang, who was the chief secretary of Ma Xingrui, the then Secretary of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, was dismissed amidst speculations due to Ma Xingrui’s rumored investigation.
According to reports from the official media of the CPC on December 24th, Feng Zhonghua has been approved by the Central Committee of the CPC to serve as the Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee. Guo Yonghang has been relieved of his duties as a member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee, with the reason given as “another appointment by the central authorities.”
Public records show that Feng Zhonghua, 55 years old, from Dandong, Liaoning Province, previously served as the Director of the Technology and Industrialization Development Center of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Director of the Urban and Rural Planning Department of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, a full-time member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and a member of the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress. In June 2019, Feng Zhonghua was appointed as the Deputy Governor of Hainan Province, then in April 2022, he was reassigned as a member of the Standing Committee of the Hainan Provincial Committee and Minister of the Organization Department, and two years later, he assumed the role of a member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Minister of the Organization Department.
Guo Yonghang, who has been relieved of his duties as the Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee, is 60 years old and hails from Jiyang, Shandong Province. In May 2015, he was promoted from the Secretary of the Yantian District Committee in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, to a member of the Standing Committee and Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee. He was later transferred to serve as the Secretary of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee in February 2018, and in December 2021, he was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor. Guo Yonghang assumed the role of Mayor of Guangzhou in January 2022 and became a member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee in June 2023.
It is worth noting that Guo Yonghang was a key aide to Ma Xingrui, a current member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, during Ma’s tenure in Shenzhen.
Ma Xingrui began his career by serving as the Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee in November 2013, followed by being appointed as the concurrent Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee in March 2015. In December 2016, Ma was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, Deputy Governor, and Acting Governor, and in January 2017, he became the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Committee and Governor. In December 2021, Ma was assigned as the Secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, promoted to a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2022, and removed from his position as Secretary of Xinjiang in July 2025.
Ma Xingrui arrived in Shenzhen in March 2015, and Guo Yonghang became his Secretary-General in May of the same year. After Ma Xingrui was promoted to the Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Governor, Guo Yonghang was appointed as the Secretary of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee.
In July this year, Ma Xingrui, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, who was relieved of his duties as the Secretary of Xinjiang, was absent from this month’s Central Economic Work Conference. This marks at least the second time within half a month that he has been absent from important high-level meetings. Rumors of Ma Xingrui’s arrest have been circulating online, suggesting his involvement in corruption related to the military industry, Guangdong, and Xinjiang where he served. However, no official announcements have been made yet.
Independent commentator Cai Shenkun posted on X, stating that Guo Yonghang is Ma Xingrui’s confidant. Following Ma Xingrui’s downfall, Guo Yonghang’s career has come to an end. If lucky, he may find a retirement position in the provincial People’s Congress or the Political Consultative Conference.
Current Affairs commentator Li Lin told Epoch Times that when Ma Xingrui was removed from his position as Secretary of Xinjiang, the official statement mentioned “another appointment,” but there has been no new appointment announced yet. Instead, he has continuously missed key meetings, fueling rumors of his arrest. Now, with Guo Yonghang also being mentioned as having “another appointment” by the central authorities, the situation seems precarious, likely indicating an official purge of Ma Xingrui’s close associates and preparations for further actions related to Ma Xingrui. Of course, due to the opaque operations of the CPC, it is still premature to conclusively determine Guo Yonghang’s fate.
On December 15th, Dai Beifang, former Party Secretary and Chairman of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Guangdong Province, was placed under investigation. Dai Beifang had interactions with Ma Xingrui during his tenure as Chairman of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPPCC.